


Lita Boots and Lies

by notreallygrump



Category: Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party - Fandom, Starbomb (Band)
Genre: Burlesque, Dancer!Reader, Drunk Sex, Everything is a wild time and my brain is wired, F/M, Sexy dancing time, Smut, fem!reader - Freeform, weir, yes i mean wired not weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-05-18 22:33:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5945794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notreallygrump/pseuds/notreallygrump
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything's great with Dan, you guys are best friends. You spend time reminiscing over your hazy days in New Jersey with him, and you even film for each others YouTube channels. Even still, lying to your best friend about those 5PM classes you're 'teaching' is making you feel like crap. None of the Grumps can know you're working at Frankie's - the new burlesque joint.</p><p>No one.</p><p> </p><p>(NOW WITH A BONUS CHAPTER! IT'S LIKE AN EPILOGUE! HAVE A LOOK! HAVE FUN!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sushi

There’s music playing in the office of your apartment as you wander around tidying, featuring momentary dance breaks and an interlude of air guitar, waiting. You turn up the AC on your way past it to battle against the scorching heat coming through the windows, and tie your hair up into a bun - a solid “fuck you” to the sun. An email comes through on your laptop from your boss asking you to confirm when you’re working over the next month's, looking a little like this;

“(Y/N),

I need you in every night from the 28th until the 13th, as Sandra’s twisted her ankle walking around in those stupid show heels. I’m sure I told her to JUST wear them when she’s on stage, but did she listen? Fuck no. So, if you could come in and fill in her shoes for “Flawless” and also the “Dirrty” finale, you would be saving my ass. I’ll boost your paycheck too for good measure, I know it’s a dirty bargain but you’re the only dancer I can trust!

Frank”

 

Extra money wouldn’t go amiss, so you quickly reply with a “Yeah no problem, see you tonight” and leave it at that. Shutting off your email, and setting up the camera to record when Dan finally turns up. The plan is for a gamer tag video and then maybe a cover, but that could wait for a few weeks. 

Finally, you hear a knock on the door underneath the music, and wander over to the door to open up. Undoing the latch, you find your friend Dan stood in front of you dressed in jeans and a grey Rush t shirt. “Nice shirt, man,” you say with no formal greeting, and he instantly smiles. Enveloping you in a hug and rocking you a little, you only reach his chest because he’s so lanky.

“(Y/N!)” he chuckles and lets go of you to walk past and into the open plan kitchen area. Opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water “It’s hot and I swear to God I am going to pass out in like five seconds.” He cracks it open and takes a gulp, spilling a little down his chin. Laughing, you join him and grab one for yourself before noticing the glasses.

“Avidan, you’re wearing glasses.” You say in a stern tone of voice, for no particular reason other than to make him smile. “Why?”

“Contacts haven’t been sent on time. Asshat.”

“Boy, the US postal service is abysmal these days.” You sigh, sounding disappointed.

“Anyway,” Dan continues, “I thought you liked my glasses!”

“I do, I just haven’t seen them in a while.” You say as you walk back over to your setup and make sure you have your audio recording setup in check. “I was thinking we could do a gamer tag video? I’m super unorganised at the minute so I didn’t really think about this until what…” You look at the clock on the wall in front of you “... five minutes ago?”

He laughs quietly and comes to sit on the cream couch that cosily fits in your lounge, “No problem, you ready?”

“Hold on,” You flick the camera down and manually focus the lens on Dan before hitting record and plonking yourself down next to him. Final adjustments are made, you take the hair tie out and your hair falls over your shoulders. “Ready.”

You take a deep breath, hit record and start your intro. “Hey everyone, it’s (Y/N) and today I’m here with everyone’s favourite Not-So-Grump… Dan! Woo!” You feign enthusiasm and let out a little laugh.

“Hello lovelies.”

“Dan’s here to do the gamer tag with me because he’s the nerdiest for games besides myself, and I am fatally unprepared. So… first question! What is your favourite game of all time?”

Half an hour and a lot of laughs later, you make sure everything recorded properly, switch off the camera, and shut everything down ready for editing later tonight when the insomnia hits. Dan sits back against the couch and relaxes, it’s comfortably quiet with him, considering you’ve been friends for so long but you speak up to ask about work.

“It’s fine, just sessions of Bloodborne are killing me.”

“When does that game end?” You retaliate.

“Fucking… never. Never ever. But yeah, it’s just a combo of sessions and album recording stuff with Brian.” He sighs and then gets up. “How’s your work? Still dancing?”

He means teaching. Don’t slip up. You’re just a dance teacher. You don’t do anything else. Don’t slip up.

“Yeah man, it’s pretty good. Just working a lot, putting some of my students through their ballet grades. One of them wants to get into theatre over on the East Coast and it’s going really well so far. Who knows? You might find my name on the internet for more than YouTube soon.”

“That’s amazing! I’m proud of you girl.” he takes a moment to wrap his arm around your waist and squeeze. After a minute he stands, stating “Piss time.” before climbing over your legs and heading to the toilet.  
“Wanna get sushi?” you hear from the toilet over a flush. You check the time, it’s another three hours before you’ve gotta get to the club - Frankie’s.

“Sure thing, that place on the main street is cute. We could walk over there?” You call over, but he’s already back in the room, tall and handsome and you’re taken aback for a second. You’d be lying to yourself if you said you never thought Dan was hot, because you had. It was just a case of you being… the friend, the best friend. In every context he mentioned you, you were “My friend (Y/N).” Yet, at that moment it was something else. Something content.

“I’ll just grab my wallet.” You go into your bedroom and find your show heels to shove them in your bag. Figuring you’d need to go straight from this late-lunch if you were to get any form of practice in before tonight.

You guys head out, and in five minutes you’re sat in the corner of a tiny sushi bar, which (given the location) is relatively inexpensive. For a good hour you guys reminisce over the past, sharing stories that you remember from hazy days back in New Jersey. It’s kind of insane to think you’ve known each other for so long. You were a tiny 12 year old dancer when you met him, he was 15 and it was one of those friendships that originally only occurred when you were shoved in a room together while your parents caught up with each other. Later on, when you hit your late teens, you spent more time with him and his friends. Getting stoned and playing Super Smash Bros on a second hand N64.

You lost touch with Dan for a long while when you were travelling and working on games, (primarily in Poland or England) with occasional chats at best… and of course the annual birthday messages. When you came back and settled down in LA, it was barely two years before he moved over for his own work and now here you were.

After sushi, you say goodbye to Dan outside the shop and go your separate ways. “Dan, I’ve missed you man. We need to hang more.” You say, nonchalantly.

“Absolutely girl, hey I’ll text you tomorrow and we can do coffee when we’re free?” He smiles at you for the millionth time that day, and it’s not a big deal to you. You just… notice it.

“Sure, I’ll see you at some point. I’ve gotta go though. I have to get t-” You cut yourself off. “-a class. I’m teaching at five.” Fuck, you feel awful for lying.

“Alright,” he turns to go before turning back around to grab you into a hug, “See you (Y/N)” You hold on, and squeeze some reassurance into him, knowing he’s just trying to say he’s missed you without using the words. He pulls away, and leaves without another word. You make your way to work with show heels in hand. When you get there, Frank thanks you profusely while you’re curling your natural hair into something less hobo youtuber and more sexy dancer. You tell him it’s not a problem, and as you fit into your corset and step into the limelight to rehearse for Sandra’s Flawless duet, you remember exactly why you love doing this.

Audience or not… it’s freedom.


	2. Think About It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After filming an episode of Table Flip, it's not the Grumps who are causing you problems. Dialogue heavy.

It’s three weeks until you see Dan again, and this time it’s on his turf. You’re super tired after seven shows a week for three weeks at Frankie’s but you’re better off for it mentally and financially. You never managed to go for coffee with him because life kept getting in the fucking way. Nevertheless, you make your way over to the Game Grumps office for a session of ‘TableFlip’ on a sunny Wednesday morning. Suzy had text you a few weeks ago to ask about you about featuring. Since after your video with Dan had gone down really well with both your fans and his own, it was beneficial for both parties if you now went and did something on their channel. Once you said yes, it was only minutes of silence before Dan had text you a shit emoji, which you replied to accordingly with a moon. It was a weird exchange, but you knew he was saying something along the lines of “You’re coming on the show!” and you were replying with “Yes. Yes I am.” 

And now you were here, being buzzed in by Barry and making your way up the stairs and to the right floor. Once you were there you found most of the channel’s members, including Holly and Mark who you weren’t expecting but you loved them too much and it was such a pleasant surprise. 

“Hey guys!” You grin from ear to ear and hug everyone around, when you get to Suzy she spins you and you feel giddy with the positive vibes.

“(Y/N) I have missed you so much. Why has it been so long!? Where have you been?”

“I know, Suzy. I’ve missed you too” You detach yourself from her, but stay close, noticing that the only two you haven’t seen yet are Dan and Arin. “It’s been too long, I’ve just been so busy with teaching. It’s so bad, I feel awful.”

“Don’t be silly, I can’t imagine you’d be avoiding us for a reason.” she laughs, when you feel a shadow loom behind you. Turning, you’re faced with Arin, his goofy face and Dan. Instantaneously you grab Arin into a hug, and he ruffles your hair.

“Munchkin grump is back!” he laughs at your height, and soon enough you’re hugging Dan too. He squeezes much like he did the last time he saw you, and you take a minute to compose yourself before getting on with ‘TableFlip’ plans. Arin decides, since you’re playing a few light-hearted rounds of “Telestrations”, that it’s worth getting into pairs to speed things up. Resulting in the four teams of Suzy and Arin; Ross and Holly; Mark and Barry and you with Dan. 

“Hey (Y/N), did you remember to bring a costume with you?” Suzy asks as you start setting up. 

“Oh, boy did I.” Oh boy did you. One of the perks of working in one of the main burlesque joints in LA was the outfits. Sequins and satin galore. You had managed to get your hands on one of the new outfits for the Saturday shows. It’s almost completely black from head to foot, but the lace and stitching are both this incredible shade of red. 

“That sounds reassuring,” Suzy responds with a grin, “Can I see?” You see Dan and Arin out of the corner of your eye lazily fucking around with the set props. Dan spreads himself out, but when he sees you he winks and gives you a thumbs up. Huh… 

“Yeah of course. Come on we can get ready now. Holly!?” you call, and find a head pop up over the table. “You coming?”

“Yup. Be there in a sec.”

“Okay, come on I’ll show you. I need your help too.” You say and Suzy’s interest peaks.

“Oh now you’ve got my interest. Can I help?” Arin jokes from across the room.

“Shut the fuck up Arin,” you flip him the bird and Dan snorts.

You and Suzy walk towards the large bathroom and enter with costumes in hand. Suzy’s outfit is so beautiful, with a headpiece to die for. “I’ll help you out first.” She says and throws her clothes bag down onto the floor.

“Okay.” You slip the outfit out of the bag and you hear a small gasp behind you.

“Oh my god that lace is beautiful!” Suzy squeals with excitement over it and takes it in her own hands to examine the corset’s details.

“Look at the skirt” You hand it to her and her jaw falls open. The skirt is a gigantic mess of lace and fabric mesh, it falls to the floor at the back and barely reaches your knees at the front.

It’s definitely your favourite.

“Put it on! Put it on!” She demands and hands it back to you. Quickly you undress in front of Suzy and slip on black tights to go underneath the skirt. A substitution for the lace suspender and stockings you’d be wearing on Saturday. You manage the skirt on your own and slip it up your body, completely ignoring the fact that there’s a clasp to open it up completely, knowing that Suzy would just ask why it has that accessory. When it gets to the corset you let your bra fall wastefully to the ground as Suzy keeps her eyes closed. “Can I open them?”

“Yeah.” You keep the bodice pressed to your chest as Suzy spins you to start lacing up the back. Pulling it in, fastening and pulling some more.

“Remind me where you got this?”

“Perks of being a dancer.”

“No really.”

“I don’t know! One of the other girls gave it to me for our performance in a few months. I’ll ask her though.”

“Please. Arin would love this.”

“On you or on him?” You laugh.

“Probably both.” She laughs along with you and finishes up the last few fasteners. Once she’s done you grab the litas from the bag, slide them on and figure you’re about done. As Suzy gets herself ready, Holly joins the two of you and you help them both with their outfits. Suzy’s headpiece needs fitting and you make sure the mic hidden in there is situated in a good place to pick up what she says. While Holly goes for a steampunk styled skirt and boots, with a black shirt and an old battered trench coat that looks like it came right out of a Meatloaf video.

“Ready?” You ask them both after a good forty minutes of getting ready. They agree and you open the door to step out. You catch Dan and Ross near the door and as it creaks they snap their heads toward you.

“Fucking finally, you guys took so fucking lo- oh.” Dan stops suddenly. You don’t realise at first but… he’s just staring at you. He’s leaning back against the kitchen counter, and just looking. Ross coughs and speaks up;

“Dan?”

“Yeah?”

“You okay?”

“Mmmhm”

You can’t help but laugh at him, he’s dressed in his stupid pauper costume, with his hair half tucked under a flat cap. He seems to zone back into reality when he notices your laughter and the four of you make your way onto the set.

Once you’re all settled down in your teams, the cameras start to roll and the game starts. It’s an easy game, and a lot of the comedy comes from the stupid drawings that you all manage to fuck up in one way or another. At one point, you and Dan draw the word “tutor”, which is then dubbed “dodgy porno plotline” by Mark (whose laughter is almightily infectious).

The filming goes on as such, and after the cameras are switched off you all start to pack up. One by one everyone drops out to go home, or in Barry’s case to edit, and once you swap the skirt for jeans and the corset for an old Incubus shirt you realise you don’t have a way to get to Frankie’s from here. You walked from your apartment, but you probably shouldn’t walk the longer distance in the lita’s you’re wearing. Knowing your clumsy sef, you’d twist your ankle before you reached the door of the Grump Space building.

In the end, you decide your only real choice is to hop on a bus and hope it eventually ends up in the right place. You have the time. So, in the silence of the office, you pick up your DIA bag containing your outfit, and in your heels you click-clack towards the stairs. You’re half way down them when you hear a door squeak open, you assume Barry must be taking a break or something. You continue until you hear your name being called by someone… someone who is not Barry.

“(Y/N)” Dan calls, looking down from the top floor, smiling down with his hands on the banister. You thought he had gone home.

“Danny! I thought you had gone home.”

“Nah, just working on the album next door. You’re leaving?” He looks sad. Almost let down.

“I have to, another class at 5.”

“Well… do you want me to drop you off?”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Uhhh, it’s okay. It’s fine. I think I need to uhhh… take a walk anyway.” You hope he doesn’t notice your shoes, and try to hide them by curling your left foot behind your right leg.

“In those?”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Hahaha, no of course not.” You lie your way out of the corner you’ve backed yourself into. “I was just gonna see if I can walk further than 10 feet in these babies. I have to dance in them in a few months.” Try a few hours.  
You know that Dan knows you’re lying. You can see it in the look he’s giving you. The smile is gone, and he’s just staring you out about it. You shrug, noncommittal and then turn to walk away.

“(Y/N)” Dan calls your name again, and takes a few seconds to run down the stairs to where you stand.

“Y-” You can’t talk when he gathers you into a ball in his arms and holds you. You augh against his chest, and when you look back, the smile isn’t there but his face is more relaxed. You feel awful. You should just tell him, surely he’d understand? No. He wouldn’t. Why would he? “Dan, hun, I have to go.”

He let’s go of you, and you make your way out of the Space and off to Frankie’s.

When you get there, it’s the same as usual. Frank comes into your dressing room with your setlist for the night, and he’s kind enough to lower you down to 3 solos for a few nights instead of the 5 you have been doing. The rest is all chorus work.

“How was your day?” He asks with a smile, hanging up the outfits you’ll be needing tonight. He’s more of a friend than a boss, having given you a job and a pace to stay when you first moved here.

“Not bad. I went over and filmed this game series for the Grumps. My friends’ channel.”

“Awesome, do they know you work here?” He questions, and you know this is going to turn into the same conversation from last month.

“Nope.” You dismiss him.

“(Y/N).” Frank walks over to your desk and sits next to you, looking at you in the mirror as you outline your lips with a red that matches your corset. “You need to tell someone. What if something happened to you while you were here?” He untangles a curl and lets it fall again.

“Then you’re here, I don’t need anyone else to know.”

“You’re working in a dangerous business for fucks sake. Surely you can tell someone. What about that guy?”

“Dan? Fuck no. Not happening.”

“Why not?” His face is straight and upset. You know what he means, but you can’t tell Dan. It would be awful. It would change everything.

“You don’t tell your family things. Secrets. I don’t have a problem with that, Frank. This is my secret. Dan is the closest thing to a family in LA-”

“I’m offended-” he smiles then, but you ignore it. You’re fucking angry.

“- and I am not going to let this hurt me, or him. Or anyone. I love doing this, but it would change everything. He’d drop me instantly.”

“No. Okay? Why are you acting like such a bitch to me? People who love you won’t care.” Frank raises his voice, the club sounds busy through the paper thin walls.

“I’m not acting like a bitch Frank, I just don’t want people to know. Not Dan, or Suzy or any of them. Or any of my other friends, for that matter!”

“So what are you expecting!?” Frank turns to look at you rather than in the mirror. “If some guy picks you up, you’re just going to let him without telling anyone? You’re just going to assume I can be around? (Y/N) you’re my friend, and I love you, but I’m not your fucking dad. Someone needs to fucking know!” 

“No!” You shout, standing up and walking away towards the clothes horse. “If I lose any of my friends, any of them, Dan or anyone, I lose everything. I have told you no. I. Mean. No.”

“Fine!” Frank slams his hands down on the desk and stands himself. “But take into account the fact that you work in LA, and you’re not the toughest girl on the block. You’ve been working here for months now, you know the type I’m talking about. I sure as hell can’t be your bodyguard every time you drive or walk home from this place. I’m asking because I care. And you know it.” He heads for the door into the corridor, a hand running through the hair that curls around his neck. His tattoos on show under the collar of his shirt. His hand is on the doorknob when he turns, “Just think about it. Please.” He opens the door. “You’re on in 10.”

“Thanks Frankie.” You smile at him, and he smiles back.

You know what he means.


	3. Exposure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a showcase night for the club, and Frank launches something on you that you weren't expecting.

Your YouTube channel consists of three or four ongoing ideas; the first is games, the second is music, the third are the irregular collabs with people and the last is… vlogging of a sort.

The vlogging was originally a way for you to stay in touch with your mom back in NJ while you went off travelling for work. It averages out at 15 minutes per episode, and in simple terms it’s a recount of your entire month. Notable moments, ups and downs, warts and all. Originally they were entitled “Dear Mom”, but since the channel grew you ended up addressing the videos to other members of your family, and then to friends. 

It’s a rainy Saturday morning and you’re sat at your desk quietly humming along to some band playing on Spotify, a calm song with this rocky edge to it that makes you feel like you belong in some sort of indie movie. It’s a day for editing the biggest project you have running, your Dear Diary series, and it takes a few hours to edit the final shots of your month together. Various videos of you at the studio with students, jamming out to some tunes and also doing your job as a teacher. A clip from the beginning of the month when you and Suzy went shopping and drank way too much coffee. You even have one bit from a party at Frank’s last week, with yourself, him and some of the other dancers from the club. You hesitate to put it in, since this video will be seen by other people, but then second guess yourself. There’s nothing to say that you’re all dancers. You’re just friends.

You cut the video down to around 5 seconds, a small moment where you’re all lined up ready for shots. On the right of you, your friend Lucy counts down from 3, you all pull faces and it cuts to the next shot.

As you go, you write little moments that you want to talk about - one liners - and it’s not long before you’re finished with editing and ready to move onto the voice recording. It takes a few minutes to set up, but you’re ready to go with your sheet of cues. You think about who to address this video to and once you’ve made up your mind you hit record.

“Dear Dan, it’s the end of July and I am pooped. Summer is at it’s peak and there’s sweat in the air… and that didn’t sound as poetically justified aloud as it did in my head…”

You go on to list the things you’ve done, and whenever he turns up in the video you make a point of going “Oh hey it’s Dan!” for no real reason other than the fact you know it’ll make him laugh. It’s an easy take, and you’re kind of surprised you managed it in one. Normally you’re chopping pieces together left and right, maybe it’s just your mood.

By the time you’re ready to upload it’s 2PM and you need to be there for the show in a few hours, it’s one of the busiest nights tonight. Not only is it the middle of summer, but the club decided as a whole to put the price of entry down for one night only. Like… right down.

It’s free.

It’s almost a showcase for the place. Exposure. It’s been open a little less than a year, and while it’s easy to rake in the money in a burlesque club in a place like LA. Frank could do with some investors.  
You hear your phone vibrate on the table beside you and grab it. It’s Arin.

“Up for tonight? We’re going out.” The text reads. Fuck, you wish you could but you can’t let down the club on such a big night. You make something up on the spot.

“I’m ill af dude :( I’m just gonna stay inside.” You respond. It’s not even thirty seconds before you get a reply.

“Okay, boo :* Dan says do you need anything? He can bring soup.” You smile at that, it’s nice to know Dan is instantly there even when you’re lying about being sick.

“I’ll be fine, I have ramen. I’m gonna get some sleep though. You kids stay safe tonight.” You send, you almost put your phone down before unlocking it again and sending the words “Don’t give Barry any Absinthe this time.”

“Promise.”

“Liar.”

You head to the bathroom for a shower, before packing up your shit and talking a slow walk to Frankie’s. On the way, you stop by a little cafe and grab yourself two iced lattes. One for the road, one in a holder for when you get to the club.

Once you arrive, you notice it’s already busy with the girls you dance with. Your own dressing room door has women crowding around it for no reason other than they have nowhere else to go. They have their own rooms, but the excitement gets too much to stay apart from each other. You’re smiling as you make your way through.

“Hey (Y/N)!” You hear as you push your way through the crowd and unlock the door to get in. It’s Lucy. Her blonde hair pulled into a french plait with a hairband to keep the hair away as she does her makeup. You go with the same method.

“Hey hun, come in.” You stumble in and she passes through with ease. Immediately sitting on the little couch you placed in the back corner of the room, she flakes out. You put your bags down and grab a few little bits; a new foundation since the other was running out, a wig cap and various hair clips 

“So has Frank seen you yet?” She asks, you raise an eyebrow at her, she smiles. “I’ll take that as a no, well… I won’t say anything. Just… be glad you’re here this early.” You glance at your phone, it’s 3:17PM. You have almost six hours until the main show starts.

Knock.

“Speak of the Devil.” Lucy laughs, but you stay quiet and let Frank open up the door of his own accord.

“Why am I happy I’m six hours early?”

“You’re on for seven solos tonight, (Y/N), I’m-”

“Seven!?” You stare wide-eyed.

“I’m sorry, I just… I needed to talk to you about it but you were so tired I thought you’d just be able to rehearse now and… I’m sorry.” 

“Why so many?” You’re almost beaming, why so many? But why is he saying sorry? “Why are you so sorry? It’s amazing! Thank you, Frank.”

He starts to smile then, “Because I - we - want you to be the main act. Everyone agrees, you’re pretty much carrying this thing with me since you got here. People come just for you. In a business sense, it works.”

You put down your coffee and walk over to crush him in a hug. “Thank you…”

Lucy jumps up too and runs over to make it a group hug. “(Y/N) you’re going to make this awesome for us” She says, and then lets go to rush out of the room.

“Come on then, rehearsal and set list.” Frank demands you leave the room and head to the stage with your heels and coffee.

Your solos are a mixture and they’re all popular, as you run through the tracks you know Frank drops in the four-part piece for Lady Marmalade and you tell him you’ll do it. Along with that the setlist makes it look like you’re opening the first half with Something’s Got A Hold On Me, then it’s End of Time, Countdown and you finish with Lady Marmalade. The second half opens with All That Jazz (which was originally Marley’s but she’s… well… pregnant.), then Diamond’s Are A Girl’s Best Friend (a classic), I’m A Good Girl, and as per usual you’re ending with Dirrty. The only time Frank will ever get on stage is for Dirrty. He gets an introduction and everything.

You rehearse for the two you haven’t done. All That Jazz is simple enough. It starts off in the crowd and works it’s way onto the stage as more of the girls come out. The only piece that catches you off is Countdown. It’s fully choreographed to fit the beat, which is absolutely fine, but it’s stunted within the chorus to a point where it feels less like a performance and more like a recital.

“We can cut it if you’re not getting it.” Frank says from the sound desk, he’s talking into a mic so that his voice comes through over the PA system.

“No. I can get it. Give me a few more plays of the chorus. I’ll get it. I promise.” You insist, you don’t want to let him down. 

“(Y/N) honestly, it’s okay.”

“But it cuts it short by a good 5 minutes.”

“Well what would you like to do?”

“I don’t know, what else is there? Is Casey in tonight?”

“Yeah, you guys wanna do Flawless?”

“Sure, I’ll work on Countdown for the next show. It’s that four-step in the middle catching me out. Everything that follows fucks me over…” You let out a great sigh, “I’m really sorry, Frank.”

“It’s not a problem, work on it over the week and we’ll try again next Saturday okay?”

“Okay, I’ll go let Casey know about the switch. What’s the time?”

“7:30”

“Cool, okay I’ll see you in a bit.” You call up towards the desk, Frank’s lost in his own little world at the mix desk. Fiddling with something. You turn to leave the stage when the song “Hard To Handle” by Otis Redding begins to play overhead.

 

By 8:45 you start getting nervous for the show. You keep telling yourself it’s just like any other show, there’s just more people. You can hear them near the quick change room behind the stage while you prepare for Something’s Got A Hold On Me, you’re in a simple pair of high waisted black shorts and a bustier. You have a quick change afterwards, into this beautiful gold number for End of Time and Flawless.

“You ready (Y/N)?” One of the backups for Hold On Me asks, and you nod. You all make your way behind the curtain and get into position on the stairs between the two levels with your handheld mic. You feel the main curtain come up and, while you’re shrouded in darkness, you know that everyone can see the figures on stage.

You take a deep breath, close your eyes and belt out your first line. The band responds with a clash of cymbals, while the chorus of women behind you chime in with a sung “yeah”. The intro continues, and after your second line the audience cheer in appreciation. You don’t want to look at them yet, there are too many, but you need to. The light’s come up and you open your eyes.

“I believe…” you sing, low and husky. You finish your last line before the first verse and the band kicks in while the girls run into their positions for the rest of the dance. Slowly, you sing and make your way to the front, joining in with some of the moves, but mostly flirting around the dancers and building your confidence while the audience watches and laughs along with your winks and nudges.

The finishes and you run offstage as the next song starts to kick in overhead. The rest of the girls are waiting to go on for the full chorus number. You rush through the crowd and find Frank waiting with your gold leotard, nothing else changes. You just throw the black off and the gold on. You run up the steps onto the second level where you enter through the back. You count yourself in as you walk onstage and…

… the rest of the first half goes without a hitch. 

 

You’re behind the long stretch of bar when you notice a familiar voice ask “Yeah, uh… two beers, two martinis and two scotches please” from the other side. You peak over to look at who’s talking but miss them. The lights then dim and you set yourself on top of the bar as the spotlight picks you up. You’re supposed to work the floor for this number, but damn it if you don’t find out whether that was Barry, because it sure as fuck sounded like it.

Your heart starts thumping when the band plays, but not because of stage-nerves this time.

As you sing All That Jazz, you rub up against a few guys and girls sat at their tables and search for Barry. If he’s here, then so will everyone else, they’ve all seen you on stage. What can you do now? You can’t run, this is the club’s biggest night. This isn’t for you it’s for everyone else. You have to keep going. 

You’re halfway through when you’re walking past the front tables and see them. Everyone. You don’t know how you didn’t see them before.

Holly and Suzy are smiling at you, looking surprised but… excited and open. Dan, Arin, Ross and Barry are chatting among themselves as you walk towards them with “Hold on hun…”, but when they notice you their heads turn one by one. You keep singing, and in a panic continue to play your part as the dancer. You walk over to Dan, and with each syllable of “Do. That. Jazz” you put your hand on his on the table, turn and sink down in a slow motion slut drop on the long note.

It’s weird, but Arin instantly laughs at the situation, and when you turn to see Dan’s reaction he’s just staring with this look on his face. He’s confused, you can tell that much, but there’s something else. You ignore it and move on, working towards the stage as quick as possible.

The song finishes and you move off stage for the next act to come on. 

You’re about to walk on stage when you see your phone light up on your dresser in the quick change room. You quickly lean over to check it. It’s from Dan.

You’re good.

And you don’t really know what it means, but it makes you feel less nervous for this last number. You have the headset on for this one, and as you walk out you start to work the crowd up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left! I'm not sure how quickly they'll come, but it's late and I'm tired. Until next time, my sweets!


	4. Late Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TAKE THE SMUT. TAKE IT. I'm pretty sure this chapter needs some work, but I just wanted to get something posted for you guys. Enjoy!
> 
> Post-show drinks with the grumps progresses into something truly unexpected.

When you come out from backstage and find your friends, they're all beaming with something that almost looks like pride. You get a few bro-style pats on the back from Ross and Barry while Arin asks incessant questions. "Jesus (Y/N), I had no idea you could dance like that! Fuck!" He keeps grinning at you while Suzy compliments the dress you're now wearing. It's all black and cut just below your thigh - almost 50's style in shape. You receive a hug from her before replying to Arin.

"I've been dancing since I came out of the vagina dude, where you been?"

"I know, I know but it was like… awesome" He pauses, not knowing whether to continue.

"Hey (Y/N)." Suzy fills in with a grin, looking back at Arin with amusement. "You need to teach me some of that stuff! I think I want to do it." You see Arin blush behind her and laugh.

"Absolutely!" You say, overjoyed. "Come over one day and I'll teach you Good Girl, it's super fun."

"So how long have you been working here WITHOUT telling us?" She scolds.

"A few months. I just didn't want you to drop me because of my new direction. You guys understand right?" You look around, noticing that Danny hasn't said a thing to you but when you gain eye contact he gives you a smile and then sweeps his gaze over your figure. It's fucking strange but you find you're entirely okay with it.

You can't help but feel a little pissed that he's only noticing when you're in a pretty dress, and you've danced around in your underwear for the last hour and a half. He speaks up, "Of course we understand, although I don't know what your mother will say when she finds out."

You laugh it off with a "Go fuck yourself", and conversation eases onto the topic of drinks. You're up for a few and agree to meet them when you've packed your shit up. Ross and Holly bow out to go home and chill out on their own, but everyone understands and between the five left you decide to meet at As You Like It around the corner. You back away to get your stuff ready when Dan follows you and calls "We'll meet you guys in twenty, okay?"

Dan follows you backstage, and it's almost cleared out now, everyone has left or is leaving for the regular drinks post-show. You spot Lucy running from one room to another and shout; "Lucy, I'm going for drinks with friends okay?"

"No problem, want me to drink on your behalf?"

"Absolutely, make sure you get the shots in." The two of you laugh while Dan stands behind you, waiting for you to move. "Just in here," you mumble and open the door for him, "mi casa su casa, obviously."

"Nice place." He wanders around while you gather the things you need to take home, you don't want to take it out with you though. Dilemma.

"Danny did you bring your car?"

"Yeah why?"

"Can I throw my stuff in and pick it up on my way back home?"

"Of course, baby." He stops himself and looks at you apologetically.

"Oh I'm baby now?"

"You're the youngest."

"Dan I'm definitely not the youngest-"

"Out of the two of us, dumbass." He smiles and checks his phone. It goes quiet before you take a deep breath... time to apologize.

"Danny, I'm uh... I'm sorry I lied to you. I shouldn't have." You look over and he's just staring. Again. "I was just scared. I didn't want to lose you guys. Especially you." You don't look at him, but you know he's looking at you.

"You never would have lost me (Y/N), you know that. Besides, it's great being able to watch you dance. I don't think I've seen you do that since you left New Jersey." He's completely right, you remember the last competition he saw you at was years ago. It was a national competition and your team came third.

 

"Yeah. I just didn't want you to think I didn't tell you for any other reason. General consensus for burlesque dancers is that we're sluts. Which I mean..." You tail off and look over to quirk an eyebrow. Dan laughs at your expression and continues to fiddle with the bracelet in his hand. It's not a stage piece, just a simple gold band.

You continue to watch him, he's wearing black jeans and a loose fitting white shirt. He looks back over at you and you instantly notice you're biting your lip at the sight of him.

"I uh..."

"You know, you looked good on that stage." He states, and his tone has completely changed. His voice is slightly more sultry, and you feel yourself blush.

"Oh really? Did you see something you liked, Mr Avidan?" You flirt, but you're cautious, you know Dan well enough to know this could be a joke.

"Not gonna lie, I couldn't take my eyes off you." He puts the bracelet back, shoves his hands in his pockets and takes a step towards you.

Dan is in front of you now before you stand up from your bag, he's tall and daringly flirty. He moves a hand and places it in the small of your back. You tell yourself to say something. "So what was your favourite outfit?"

"The white one, with the lace. You caught me off guard, but once I settled with the idea of you on stage I was-" he leans forward so the two of you are nose to nose, and for a minute all you can hear is light breathing from the two of you. "-excited."

And then Dan's lips are on yours, as he pulls you tighter to him and slinks the other hand up your back and up to play with your hair. You can't really think straight, and you know that's normal but you're suddenly kissing your best friend and it feels weird. It feels really fucking weird, but it's a good feeling too. It's okay.

It's kind of fucking awesome.

It's light at first, you don't want to get something wrong when there's so much hanging in the balance. You feel like you should pull away and say something just to confirm that this is actually happening.

"Danny." You say in between kisses, and he pulls away instantly to look at you. Now what do you say??

"You want me to stop?"

There's silence as you ponder. You want him to stop so you can talk and ask why now? Where's the reasoning when all that has changed is the clothes you wear and the songs you dance to. "No, I just - why now?"

"(Y/N) it's not just now, we've known each other for years. You know I haven't been in a long term relationship for a long time. Can you not guess why that was?"

"Hold on. So you're saying..." You're looking in disbelief because you know exactly what he's saying. He gives you a genuine smile. "You're such a fucking sap." You say with a laugh.

"Jeez," he's laughing but he's staying close to you, "I'm here admitting my affections and you're bullying me? (Y/N). My heart. I've known you for so long and here I was thinki-"

You're past the point of caring and shut him up with another kiss. "You're cute when you're frustrated."

"Cute was not the goal."

"Tough shit, it's true." You state and he laughs between your kisses. It continues for a while, less  
cautious than it was before. The two of you finding a balance between the open-mouthed kisses, you're perched on your dresser with your hands thrown up on his shoulders - one playing in his hair. "We sh-" you try and whisper into the spaces when Dan's lips aren't covering yours, "We should- we should get going."

"Yeah okay," Dan replies in the time it takes to move from your lips to your neck.

"Dan we need t-ah!" You whine as he bites down on your neck, gaining the access to mark you. 

"Dan, later. Dan we need to g-ah! Dan, fucking stop." You grab a fistful of hair and pull it. He hisses and pulls back then to look you over with a lazy, triumphant smile.

"Later?"

"Later. Yes."

"God I may just have a boner all night now." He sighs thoughtfully as you open the door to walk out into an empty hallway. Everyone must be gone except the cleaners now. Dan follows close behind, and with your bag in hand the two of you make way to Dan's car. You throw your stuff in the backseat and when Dan locks up, the two of you make your way to As You Like It.

You're leaving the car park when Dan intertwines his fingers with yours and smiles down at you. 

"Are we going to..?" You want to ask whether you're going to do this in front of everyone, but Dan knows what you're about to say.

"Okay, let's keep it between us for now, but if something good comes out of it then we can tell them. Deal?"

"Deal."

Once you get to the bar Dan let's go, but still acts as gentlemanly as possible and opens the door for you. Bowing stupidly and calling you "M'lady" the way you've heard him say it a thousand times. Everyone else spots the two of you and calls you over from the booth they're sat in. You sit opposite Dan and pretty soon the drinks are flowing. Everyone tells stories from their lives that make your sides hurt from laughing so much, Arin buys one last round of shots before moving to another place down the road. The only one moderately sober is Suzy, but even she falls on the way to the new bar.

As you're walking you feel Dan slink an arm around you and pull you into him. A moment passes where you look up at him and then he backs off to go an throw an arm over Barry's shoulder.

It's late when Suzy and Arin decide to make their way home, hailing a cab with their arms around each other. Close and comfortable. Barry follows close behind and stumbles away with a phone number from some girl at the last bar you had visited.

"Da-Dan," Barry slurs up the street, "Are you coming with?"

"I'll walk (Y/N) home, she left stuff in my car" Dan replies and Barry just shrugs before walking away.

"That guy is my favourite drunk." You state, and Dan laughs next to you.

"Absolutely. Hey, it's later. You know that?"

"I'm aweh-aware, yes." You stutter through your words, you feel less drunk than an hour ago but it's nowhere near sobriety. "We can get a taxi, I don't need my stuff tonight." You feel Dan behind you again, his arms wrap around your waist and pull you into him. You raise a hand and the oncoming cab pulls in, the two of you get in and you call your address out.

Ten intense, lust filled minutes later, you and Dan are climbing out of the cab, unlocking the building's door and racing up the stairs to your apartment, laughing all the way because what the fuck is happening right now. You feel his fingers tracing your hips as you attempt to unlock your door a few times.

The door is kicked shut as soon as you're through it, and Dan soon has you up against the wall. Lips on yours, hands on your hips. You moan a little from the force, and he bites your lip in response.

"Bedroom?" He asks, looking down at you with hazy eyes, it reminds you of the days back in New Jersey when you two would get stoned. You'd sit for hours playing guitar and laughing over the sound of your own voices.

"Bedroom." You respond, and you're halfway through kicking off your heels when Dan picks you up by the waist and forces you to lock your legs around him with a squeal. He carries you, nuzzling your neck and making little marks all over your chest, into you room and drops you onto the unmade bed. The lights are off, but it doesn't stop you from taking a good look at him as he throws his shirt to the floor. Your dress has a zip at the back, so you sit up to reach for it, trying to get naked as fast as humanly possible before Dan stops you. Kneeled in front of you he reaches to pull the zip slowly, watching you watch him. He pulls the straps down and exposes your bustier from the first number. It's your favourite, and it's so sleek that it doesn't show the pattern beneath the dress. Dan looks down and back up before laughing.

"You're just too much for me," he says with a mouthful of laughter.

"You fucking love it," you tease, and take it upon yourself to raise your hips and expose the rest of yourself.

"You're just a pain in my ass, I've been thinking about this all night and now what... you're wearing this? Looking perfect and everything?" He kisses you between words, simultaneously backing you up the bed so your head is on the pillow. "Fucking ridiculous."

You can feel him getting hard in his jeans, but you just want him now. You shift so that your hips are level with his and you can grind on him from beneath. He moans a reply, a "fuck" that makes you want to keep going, so you do. Kisses and hip movements that send him crazy.

"Fuck it," you hear him mumble against your skin, and he starts undressing your lower half, laying down so he's facing your centre. "Don't you dare fucking tease me like that again."

The kisses start at your thighs, small, tender and teasing, and eventually work towards your clit. When you push yourself up onto your elbows with a gasp to see him, he's watching you with a smirk. At the first soft moan that escapes you, he stops. Completely. With that smirk still on his face. "You fucker." You say with a laugh, "So that's how this is going to be?"

"Mmhm," he goes back to sucking on your clit, and in the process starts to stretch you out with two fingers. You hear him moan gorgeously against you and it sends vibrations through you.

"Ah, fuck," you let out with a sigh, and he starts to speed up the process of fucking into you.  
Before too long, your curses become incoherent and Dan is pushing you closer and closer to the edge. You rake a hand through his hair, pulling at the root. Begging for a release. "Dan. Fuck. Dan."

He moans a response when your orgasm hits you hard and suddenly, you can't stop yourself from being so loud until you bite down on your forearm. Dan eases you into a comedown, takes his fingers away and climbs back up to be level with you.

"I won't tease you again." You mumble into his mouth when it lands on yours. You can taste yourself on his tongue and it's fucking awesome.

"What was that?" Dan asks with a chuckle. Before you respond, you decide it's time you returned the favour in some sort of way. So, without a word you flip yourselves over so that Dan is on the bottom. He looks panicked for a second and then realises what you're up to. You feel the hard on underneath your bare cunt and grind over the jeans he's wearing.

"I said I won't tease you, Daniel. I promise."

"So uhhh..." he groans underneath you when you feel him grind back against you. "What do you call this?"

You can't help but laugh as you unbuckle his belt and pull it off, then work on the button of his jeans. You take a minute to take off your bustier and throw it to the floor, leaving you completely naked for Dan's viewing. In moments, he takes his boxers off and you feel yourself go wide eyed at the sight of his dick. You've heard him make plenty of jokes about the size of his dick when you're watching his videos, but you never actually thought about it. "You're uh... you're big, Avidan." you say, shyly, before he laughs.

"You don't have to compliment me in order to get sex. You know that right?"

"Ever the talker, aren't you?" You say it before you take a hold of the base and delicately suck in the tip. Swirling your tongue around and making little moans, getting him fired up and lustful.

"Jesus, fuck, (Y/N)." He breathes out, and you can see his chest moving in time with what you hear. When you start to take deeper mouthfuls of him, you feel a hand slide into your hair.

After a while, you try to take most of him in, meeting your lips with your hand that jerks off the base of his cock. He pulls your hair then, and you let out a choked moan. Seconds pass, and you have to come up for air.

"Fuck it. (Y/N), ride me." Dan says, grabbing you and pulling you up so that he can kiss you. You reach to the bedside table, hoping that you're going to find some form of condom. It could be pink and sparkly and you'd be fine with it, you just need something quickly. You need him now. You lay your hands on one and rip open the foil packet, ready to slide it down over Dan's dick. "You ready?" he asks you when you're done, and while you're mentally preparing yourself for the potential pain, you nod and lower yourself while Dan guides his dick into you. The two of you moan and hiss over the feeling, and when he's halfway in he grabs your hands with his own to stabilize you. It doesn't hurt too bad so far, and you know the pain will be over sooner if you bottom out and let Dan enjoy the moment of being completely enveloped by your cunt. So, you count to three in your head before you sink down all the way. Your eyes close and you vocalise the pain, distorted by the pleasure of feeling so full, while Dan gasps and grips tighter onto your hands.

"Dan... fuck..."

"You okay?"

"Yeah I just," you grind a little, and he slips in and out a few times, getting used to the feeling, "I'm okay."

You move to fuck yourself, looking down at Dan with a bitten lip. He's lying there with a face like ecstasy, his eyes closed as he starts the fuck up into you, shallowly but meeting you all the same. His moans are bliss, and you have to swallow them with kisses.

"Oh fuck, Dan. Oh my God." You whine and ask for him to go harder, feeling emptier since you bottomed out against him. "Fuck me, fuck me."

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" He laughs, out of breath, suddenly flipping you over so that you're on your back. Your hands grip the sheets when he lifts one of your legs up on your shoulder. It feels better than before, and you let go of your inhibitions to moan. "Better?" he asks after you've lost all your breath. You can only nod in response. You can feel yourself about to come again, you move a hand to play with your clit.

"Ah, Danny. Fuck." Your leg falls when Dan bends down to kiss you.

"Come on, (Y/N). For me... come on." you hear his sultry tone in your ear and it sends you over the edge. Your heart thumps, and soon after you can feel Dan suddenly jerk forward and stay for a while, his moans buried into your neck. You both catch your breath in the afterglow before Dan pulls out and lies next to you to take the condom off. He ties it and throws it in some direction. You don't care.

"So..." you say, "that was..."

"Fucking awesome."

"Yeah. Yeah it was." You laugh out loud as Dan curls up to you, kissing your neck and snuggling up. You grab the covers and throw them over the two of you. "What time is it?" you ask before remembering that there's an alarm clock on your bedside table. It reads 3:54AM, and you sigh. "We have to be at work for like... 2, right? To record?" You agreed to do a Grumpcade with Arin and Dan.

"Yeah," he replies, "come on, hun. Sleep."


	5. Late Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE END IS NIGH.
> 
> The morning after the night before

You wake up to the alarm clock, it’s silent waiting causing a strange uneasiness inside. It whispers 11:27AM at you with a delicate red glow. You haven’t slept in this late in months, but then again… you have a fair reason why. You roll onto your back with a yawn and stretch, but then notice the empty space beside you. Fuck. The room spins when you sit up to listen for some form of noise, signalling that Dan is still here and you don’t need to worry. Nothing. Pure silence, with the exception of outside. The noise of bustling streets in LA filter in through the window. Fuck. You crawl out of bed, your naked figure looking around your apartment, his clothes are gone. His phone, and his keys. Everything. No note to say he’ll see you later. Fuck. 

You find your bag from last night and search through for your own phone. When you retrieve it, you check the screen for any signs of a text. Nothing. Absolutely zilch.

It’s like he was never here…

You head out into the rest of your apartment, the living room feels cold but you don’t find a reason to change anything about it. You wander over to the kitchen area, not a separate room but an attachment, and switch the kettle on. As you pass the fridge, you notice one of the photos that you have stuck on there is of you and Dan when you first got back. It’s one of those ones you get from a photo booth, you’re both making stupid faces in each of the four panels. You smile, and then a sense of sadness washes over you again. Why would he leave after everything he admitted to?

He didn’t say a lot after the sex, maybe he regretted it. You head back towards your bedroom to throw on something, when you get to the drawers you open the half-heartedly and grab an old red shirt, it’s too big for you and acts as a makeshift blanket for you to hide your misery in. You take a pair of black shorts too, and just as you’re about to put them on you hear a sound from the hallway. You quickly throw the shorts on and walk out to the front door, the kettle clicks off and the door opens.

“Yeah, we’ll be there at two Arin, I promise. Honest to God. She’s just sleeping in, that’s all. No, we didn’t fuck she’s my best friend you shit. Alright. Yeah. See ya later boo.” Dan has his back turned to you the whole time he’s talking, closing the door and juggling a bag and a cup holder. You suddenly can’t wipe the smile from your face. Of course he didn’t leave. Of course.  
When he turns towards you, he stops instantly and reflects your grin. “Morning, you.” You say with a laugh. Walking over and taking the cup holder from him, it has the logo from the coffee house you went too yesterday printed on it. 

“And a good morning to you too,” Dan kisses you nonchalantly, and you’re taken aback by how casual and gorgeous he’s acting. “How’d you sleep?” He asks as you both head back to the kitchen, you start to respond and unpack the bag he’s placed on the island when he physically removes you from the scene and pulls out one of the chairs for you. Handing you an iced black coffee and then moving to find plates and such.

“I slept fine, thank you. When did you wake up? I was worried you’d just left.”

“Of course I didn’t, I wouldn’t. I woke up about an hour ago. Figured I should treat you to breakfast, I got your favourite.” He slides a plate your way, a simple bagel with cream cheese. Delicious.

“Oh I fucking love you Daniel.” You throw the comment his way with no real thought, but when he smiles at you, you realise what you said.

“I love fucking you too,” he says and then acts like nothing was wrong with that.  
“That’s what I meant to say, thank you.” You take a bite of your bagel and make small talk with him. He asks about Frankie’s, about how long you’ve been there, about what last night was about. You tell him everything.

“I’ve actually been made the lead girl for the shows now. That - last night - was my first big show.”

“Well, you fucking rocked it.”

“Hah, I missed a few steps, and the whole of All That Jazz was improv." You remember last night when you pulled that move on him.

It goes quiet while you finish up your breakfast and stand up to wash the plate. Sipping on your coffee straw as you go. Dan hands you his, kisses your cheek and moves over to the couch.

Once you’re done, you call out “I’m gonna shower, I’m still gross from last night.”

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be." You wink at him and he snickers from his seat on the sofa, he’s loading up some game on your PS4. In your room - you strip off and find an outfit for the day. Knowing you'll be grumping all day until later on tonight, you opt for high waisted shorts and the only band shirt you own.   
Grabbing your phone to play some form of music while you're showering, you head out and walk right in front of Dan to your bathroom. His eyes follow you, and you watch the TV screen as he dies.

“You can’t just do that, (Y/N)! It’s not fair!”

“Bite me, asshat.”

“Is that a fucking challenge?” You hear while you’re plugging your phone into the doc in your bathroom.

“Nah,” you call, turning the music up loud and switching the shower on.

You take the time to shower thoroughly, and you actually notice a bruise on your hips. Whether it's from dancing or Dan, you don't know. "Dan!" You shout, you wait a second before shouting for him again. "Dan get in here!"

He runs in, clearly thinking something's happened to you. "What's wrong?"

"Was this you?" You turn so that your left side is towards him, his eyes go wide. "Did you..? Because I don't think I fell when we went out."

"Fuck, that's... I'm sorry. Does it hurt?" He reaches to touch it, when his fingers press against the skin it goes white under the pressure but you don't feel much pain.

"It just aches a little, I was just wondering is all," you reach to switch the shower off and step out in front of him.

"I mean it's kinda hot." He turns you to the side to look again, his fingers trace it. It's dark and fresh looking,

"Oh?"

"Well, yeah... I mean I'm sorry but at the same time, it's like..." he fumbles over the words, "...people won't know that I'm the cause of it. Except for me. It's hot."

"Whatever you say dude," you say, grabbing a towel to leave the bathroom. You start drying off your hair as you walk when you feel arms around your waist, "Dan we can't," you say as he kisses the back of your neck, "Dan I just got out of the shower you fuck." You can't stop yourself from laughing at his eagerness, and he slows it down when he hears you. "Easy tiger." You reach back to cup his cheek and kiss him softly.

“Go get dressed before we both end up naked,” he says, pulling away and sitting back on the sofa. You leave him alone to get ready, throwing on your clothes and making sure to tuck the Rush t shirt into the shorts. When you go back out, Dan does a double take. “Is that mine?”

“I don’t know… is it?” You smile coyly.

“You fucking stole that! You had it all this time?” He’s shocked and utterly confused.

“I know I did.”

“I spent hours looking for that before I left Jersey. You had it the entire time. You stole,” Dan drops the controller and walks towards you, “my favourite shirt and took it with you to fucking England?”

“Poland, actually. In fact, it went to Japan for a little while.”

“I can’t believe you.”

You take the shirt and bury yourself in it, hiding yourself from his height. “I took it with me, yeah. I wanted to take a piece of you with me. I knew I would miss you.”

“You’re just…” Dan brushes hair out of your face, “You’re fucking ridiculous. I fucking love you.”

“Awww, I love fucking you too.”

“That’s what I meant.” he smiles, and you wrap your arms around him lovingly.

"You can have your shirt back if you want." You say with a sigh. Dan looks like he's considering it for a moment before he pecks you on the cheek.

"Nah, it looks better on you anyway."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! As a first fic within the Grumps community I am super happy there are so many of you reading and loving it. I normally keep a list of what I was listening to while writing;
> 
> Royal Blood - Come On Over  
> Royal Blood - Loose Change  
> No Doubt - It’s My Life  
> Rush - Tom Sawyer  
> Rush - Limelight  
> Weezer - Say It Ain’t So  
> Incubus - Drive  
> No Doubt - Just a Girl  
> Smashing Pumpkins - 1979  
> REM - Losing My Religion  
> Spin Doctors - Two Princes  
> Pulp - Do You Remember The First Time?  
> Smash Mouth - Walking on the Sun  
> Foo Fighters - My Hero  
> Royal Blood - Ten Tonne Skeleton  
> Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany’s  
> Weezer - The Sweater Song  
> Barenaked Ladies - One Week


	6. Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I've been listening to this song non-stop for about three hours while I wrote this because I love it so much. Anyway, I decided to revisit my first-born child and give her a lil' bit extra. This takes place a really long time after the events of LBAL and you and Dan are recording a cover when something rather exciting happens.

“Are you ready?” You hear from the doorway of your office where you’re setting up your recording equipment. Dan stands there looking casual, leaning against the doorframe and watching you. “I wanna go through it once more before we record.”

“Um, yeah… if you grab my guitar we can do it here and get warmed up.” You say and he nods, turning to head towards the living room where you had been practicing all last night with him. Running over the song a million times and occasionally bickering when one of you went a little too 80’s glam rock-esque with the vocals.

The plan was to record a cover of a particular song that you had found not too long ago. It was different to your usual taste but you felt like you and Dan could pull off a pretty decent cover of it together. Plus, it was rather relevant given you had been a couple for a while now.

Still, the air is tense. You’re scared Dan doesn’t want to do this and he’s just doing it to see you happy, but you’ve known him too long. If he didn’t want to do it, he’d just fucking tell you in the least offensive way possible.

Moments later, he walks back in with your guitar and the two of you go to sit down. You hope he won’t notice that you’re recording the whole time, but you know you’ll get some great bloopers if you do. Handing your guitar over, you smile and throw the strap over your shoulders and start to strum the right rhythm but the wrong chord. Dan laughs at you and you flip him the bird before switching to the right one.

“There we go!” You exclaim and Dan laughs again.

“Okay, you ready?”

“One take wonders. Let’s just go for it until we get it right.”

“D’you wanna record your intro now or later?” He questions and you know he’s noticed that the camera’s already recording.

“May as well do it now.” You sigh and direct your attention to the camera. “Hey everyone, it’s (Y/N) and Dan and I had an argument a couple of days ago-”

“Excuse me?! We didn’t have an argument!” Dan looks at you with disbelief and you turn to laugh at his expression.

“Okay, no we didn’t but… whatever. This song is called ‘Anything’ and it’s by a dude called Rusty Clanton so if you don’t know him then go check him out. We’re gonna experience Dan singing all light and lovely, aren’t we?”

“We are. None of that vibrato shit, m’lovelies.” “Yeah, he’s gonna be a hipster mother fucker.”

“I am. My girlfriend is turning me into one of the hipsters.”

“Who knew two thirty-somethings could be hipsters?”

“I didn’t.”

“Me neither,” the two of you are just talking to each other, smiling as you make silly conversation before you finally decide you should do a take.

It takes a few goes at first, but eventually you play the first few bars and something feels _right_. So much so that you and Dan look at each other at the same time, knowing you’ve both had the same feeling.

You start to sing first, _”I’ll guess which way your lips will curve, you write a book before you start to speak.”_ You end the line with the same riff before Dan sings the second line.

 _”I’ll follow every word composed in freckles on your neck, your nose and cheek.”_ Again with the riff before changing to something of a chorus, you keep looking away and try to remember the note of your harmony before it comes out of your mouth.

 _”So tell me how I just can’t figure you out.”_ You manage it with a smile and finish with the ragged blues riff that you love playing so much. _”Oh baby, I would do…”_ You look at Dan and then back to camera for _”...anything for you.”_ The ‘you’ is dragged out as a melisma before you revert back to the original chord progression and play the next verse.

Dan takes the first line this time, and when you take the second line you belt it with a similar growl to the original version. The chorus comes around and by the end, Dan raises his hands and starts to clap as you play the fast paced, muted chords. You reach your favourite line and start to grow louder as both of you sing out the line; _”and it's pullin me closer to you, got me beggin for more more more more more more more!”_

You finish the song and finally feel like you have a take. Dan pulls you towards him and hugs you from the side, kissing your temple. You relax, knowing that the video would probably be cut by this point, when you hear Dan’s voice right next to you.

“(Y/N)?” You feel him shift next to you and the sound of something click open.

“Mmhm?” You say it quietly and shift to see what Dan’s got before stopping completely. Held in front of you is… it’s beautiful and blue and you love it already but… is he? You cover your mouth and instantly feel yourself well up with tears when it hits you. He is.

“Is that-?” You ask and Dan grins stupidly, nodding. He doesn’t even have to say anything but he opens his mouth to speak anyway.

“You know I’ve loved you since we’ve met, and I don’t think I’ll stop loving you until we’re both long gone, and even longer still. So…” He takes a deep breath, and you can tell he’s trying to not cry as well. You choke up and let out a mix of a laugh and sob. “So… Jesus I’m gonna cry. Will you marry me?”

“Fuck- okay, yeah. Yeah I will. I’ll marry you.” You say through tears and sobs and Dan laughs, taking the ring from its box and placing it onto your ring finger. Sliding the box into his back pocket before enveloping you in a bone crushing hug for a few moments, probably to give himself a moment to tear up without everyone seeing.

When he eases off, you both smile at each other before he kisses you lightly. “You’re gonna be Mrs Avidan.” He says, biting his lip and, through all of the emotion, you decide you’re going to cut the video there.

“I am… fuck, I really am.”

“(Y/N) Avidan… I like it.” He says to you between long gentle kisses.

“Yeah… yeah, me too.”


End file.
